Cup of Coffee with Katie

That's right, it's that time of year again. (and if you missed the reference in the title, click here !) Once again we're all talking about how summer has faded away too quickly. If you're a student, a teacher, or a parent, the past 2 weeks (or the upcoming week for those of you lucky enough to be in a place where school still opens after Labor Day) have been crazy ones. And even if you don't fit into any of the categories above, you still know it's Back to School time for one reason: traffic. Somehow it's like hundreds of cars that were hibernating all summer have awakened and filled the roadways. And the school buses, ah yes, the school buses. I love them, they're efficient...but I've been stuck behind one enough times to know that most drivers have a love-hate relationships that tends to lean more in the direction of hate. Just remember, if they didn't exist, that would mean an extra car on the road for every kid on that bus. Perspective for t...

Today is August 14th...which means 7 months from today will be one of the most memorable dates of our lifetime: 3.14.15 AKA the Most Epic Pi Day until next century. Now if you don't know what Pi Day is, then clearly a) you do not know me well at all...at least not for the past 6 years and B) you must have completed school prior to the year 2009 when the U.S. House of Representatives supported the designation of Pi Day. The first time I heard of this landmark occasion was March 14, 2005. I was a freshman at Villanova and I waltzed (and by that I mean sprinted since I had 10 minutes to make it from the business building across campus to the science building) into my Calc III class where I was greeted with stickers, pie, and smiling faces. Now I'll be honest: there always seemed to be a shift from my experience spent in my morning business classes and my afternoon with the math/science majors (and no I'll never describe one as better or worse, just completely different) but th...

It may only be 12 simple letters but trust me these two words used in conjunction could not mean more to me. Sweet Freedom is a place (though actually now it's 3 different locations) but it's so much more than that; it's an experience, it's an escape, and it's giving Hershey, PA quite a run for its money in my "Happiest Place in Pennsylvania" category. Sweet Freedom is a bakery that I stumbled upon completely by lucky accident and my life has never been the same. It's the kind of place that I hope to one day open...but for now the presence of such a place in my world is more than enough to put a smile on this face. It was June 2011. I had just finished the longest spring semester of my life as my health was most accurately described as "in shambles". I had been encouraged to try eliminating gluten (only to be forced to eat it again a few weeks later in preparation for my endoscopy...the irony of this crazy condition) and I was feeling wel...

There's something most of you probably don't know about me/may find hard to believe but it's true: once upon a time I was an actress. I know, I know, seems crazy right? I mean this is the self-proclaimed painfully shy child whose first role (as an angel in the church Christmas play) ended with my 4-year-old self tearfully running off the altar before the Wise Men even arrived. This is the girl who nearly got sick the morning of high school graduation because the thought of standing up to address an auditorium full of people was near-paralyzing. Yes, I think my family was just as shocked when my 7th grade self came home from school proclaiming that I would be auditioning for the school play. Yet I did and I loved it and for the next 6 years, without fail, I was up on that stage performing in every school production we had. I think something about leaving Katie behind and taking on a new persona for a few hours was what brought me profound joy/enabled me to overcome my otherw...

I miss HIMYM already... (Photo courtesy of: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/565201821954797545/) Today is a day which many gluten-free friends have been working towards and dreaming about since before I even knew that a pesky little protein called gluten even existed. And August 5, 2014 is a date which has been circled on most calendars for both gluten-free producers and consumers (I recently found out I'm teaching an economics course this year...I need to bring back out the business lingo:-) for almost a year now. Today is the day the FDA officially regulates the term gluten-free when applied to food products sold in stores across this great nation. All these foods fall under the regulations... Whether you're gluten-free yourself or not, I have a feeling you'll notice the changes...or perhaps you already have. Since these changes were announced a year ago, many food companies have spent the past year clambering to get their products (or more specifically the...